Microsoft Releases Windows Embedded Standard 2011 CTP

Microsoft
announced Sept. 1 the release of the Windows Embedded Standard 2011 Community
Technology Preview to OEMs and developers of specialized devices. Originally
code-named Quebec, the product
delivers compartmentalized Windows 7 technologies.

The Windows Embedded Standard 2011 CTP is available here. It allows OEMs
to utilize only those Windows 7-based components they need for the creation of
specialized devices. For example, companies in areas such as industrial
production or consumer electronics could use the Windows Embedded Standard 2011
to create a highly specialized platform or application for a handheld. A suite
of development tools and embedded-enabling features will supposedly lower
development costs.

Although Windows Embedded Standard 2011 was originally intended to rely on
the Windows Vista platform, it appears that Microsoft is skipping over that
much-maligned operating system right to Windows 7.

"To meet the demand for improved user experiences and connectivity
among today's rapidly growing categories of specialized devices, Microsoft has strategically
planned the release of Windows 7-based technologies to OEMs in the embedded
marketplace," Kevin Dallas, general manger of Microsoft's Windows Embedded
Business, said in a statement.

"The availability of the Windows Embedded Standard 2011 CTP empowers
our worldwide ecosystem of OEMs, partners and developers to take advantage of
the next-generation platform's enhanced Windows-7 based features, and provide
feedback prior to its general release to manufacturing," Dallas
added.

Microsoft's statement offered no finalized general release date. According
to a news release, capabilities and features of Windows Embedded Standard 2011
will include:

Enterprise
equipped with the ability for organizations to seamlessly extend existing
investments in technology management and infrastructure to devices by
using Active Directory group policies and Microsoft System Center
Configuration Manager, as well as increased interoperability for client
server scenarios with Microsoft Terminal Services and Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI).